STORM SAFE HOMES
Click below to watch us build our "Storm Safe Homes" from the ground up.
Hurricane season is here, and Florida licensed building contractor Kristin Beall is breaking ground on a new concept in affordable housing, with "Storm Safe Homes." She believes that every American family should own a safe, well-built home that will be secure no matter how severe the weather becomes. These homes will also be designated
Fortified…for safer living
® by the Institute for Business and Home Safety.
Kristin's family has been building homes for Central Florida's working families for 50 years. Her grandfather, Charlie Johnson, was known as the "Father of Affordable Housing" in Central Florida. Now Kristin, a third generation building contractor, carries on her grandfather's tradition of building high-quality, affordable homes for working families. The homes will include many of the safety features and higher quality materials typically found in million dollar homes.
It is in this spirit that Kristin announces a new concept in home construction. Today she will break ground on two "Storm Safe Homes", which will be used as prototypes for her "Storm Safe" community consisting of 59 homes just outside Orlando, Florida - scheduled for fall of 2006.
Kristin's "Storm Safe Homes" will be specifically designed for working families and available in seven floor plans ranging in size from 1,250 to 1,900 square feet. The homes will be affordable, with home prices starting in the $150s (not including the lot).
Every home will be built to exceed building code requirements and will be specifically designed to give each homeowner, and their family, peace of mind and security before, during and after a severe storm. Some of the safety features included in these homes are:
* Concrete Safe Room, Reinforced & Poured:
This room will be engineered to withstand Category 5 hurricane winds and will be built into a walk in closet. The solid core door of the safe room will open in, to prevent its occupants from being trapped inside. The house can literally crumble around this room while occupants remain safe inside this reinforced concrete cocoon.
* Window Protection:
Homes will feature a combination of impact resistant glass and storm shutters.
* Hip Roofs:
Hip Roofs are sloped on all sides reducing the amount of surface area for the wind to "grab" and "lift" the roof. All structural gables will be built out of reinforced concrete block.
* Upgraded roof system:
Roof is decked with 5/8" plywood, all seams are sealed with peel and stick, and 30 lb felt is used underneath impact resistant shingles.
* Exterior Doors that Swing Out:
Doors that swing out provide greater resistance to the wind and rain.
* Hurricane Straps:
Homes in Florida are now required to have Hurricane straps which are placed in the lintel. They securely hold the roof and the walls together.
* Concrete Block Construction reinforced with #5 rebar:
Concrete is the only wall material that is impenetrable.
*
Color Wheel Flex-Lox Paint:
This paint seals hairline cracks in concrete and prevents water from coming in the house. Warranteed for 98 mph winds.
* One Year Subscription to the Weather Channel's NOTIFY® Service:
Service provides severe weather warnings instantly by calling your cell phone or home phone as soon as tornado or storm warnings are issued.
Kristin's ultimate goal is to build "Storm Safe Homes" for American families, neighborhood by neighborhood, in the most vulnerable parts of the country such as "tornado alley" in the Midwest and hurricane prone states in the Southeast.
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Charlie Johnson Builder
STORM SAFE HOMES